The Story of How AIDS Began- in 1908!

[+ Lucky]

Remember Patient Zero? He was the flight attendant who was thought to have brought HIV to the West. His casual ways with sex caused many people to get HIV, and thus for many years, Patient Zero was the bad guy of the AIDS epidemic.

Well, today's Washington Post discusses a book which tells us that the real Patient Zero lived sometime around 1908, and was among a group of men who plundered Africa for elephant tusks and rubber. Somehow a remote monkey virus entered his blood, and the rest is history. Take a look for yourself: http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/colonialism-in-africa-helped-launch-the-hiv-epidemic-a-century-ago/2012/02/21/gIQAyJ9aeR_story.html?hpid=z5

[Cooper]

Lucky, thanks for sharing this interesting and informative article on the history of AIDS... It is quite lengthy but I'd recommend we all take the time to read it.. Excellent research done by the author.

[KMEM]

Intereasting article but why is the "white man" always the cause of everyone's problems? It seemed to me that by far the excerpt was more political than scientific. I have asked a world class DNA expert friend of mine for his scientific opinion.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[+ Lucky]

I am glad you liked the article, Cooper. Yes, it is a bit long, but since the disease has affected so many so close to us, I think it is worth knowing more.

KMEM, I think you already know why the white man is the cause of so many problems. Would Africa have been better off had we left it alone?